Passat CC 1st birthday

[tentacles1]

20,000kms on ours so far and still going strong. Average consumption hovering around 8.6l/100km.

[eggywawa]

AC problem update:
2010-NOV-19: sent the car in, diagnosed as FAN failure (which I think it has nothing to do with fan, as fan is fully working)
2010-DEC-10: sent the car in, diagnosed as Compressor failure

I just hit 700km mark....

Booked the car for compressor replacement on 2010-DEC-21

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
update 2010-DEC-22
Aircon fixed under warranty after 3rd dealer visit, now the car is as cool as fridge!! yay!!

the fault is compressor short circuit.

Remedy: replaced compressor (unit: $609 labour: $586)

[Silver CC]

Let's get down to brass tacks about this car..

I bought my CC (seems to be a twin of Leagle's) Oct '09 from Denlo.

I saw it in a pic 6 months before and thought it was the best looking VAG car (VW Audi Group) I'd ever seen but was convinced they'd just furnish it with a tiddler of a TDi - hence my interest ended right there and then.

Looking for a spare car to my Merc SLK55AMG up to 80 grand the R36 popped onto my radar - a bit hardcore to be companion to my already harder-core sportscar. A friend said 'what about the CC?' - when he said it had the R36's engine I had the nearest dealer on the line in under 5 seconds booking their demo for a drive 15 mins later!

Build quality and materials are second to none. Equipment almost without peer in the automotive world - at any price.*

World's best transmission. World's best 4wd system for a roadcar. Active damping. It parks itself. It drives itself (Active Cruise). Touch screen satnav. BT phone kit. Heated and cooled seats. Rear camera. Optical Parking System. Etc etc etc - you go mad just listing them all.

It looks beautiful. Hauntingly beautiful in an almost subtly masculine way. I'd say the design is probably ahead of it's time even today - likely to look fresh 5 years from now (unlike other VAG products which tend to date terribly - I reckon that's by design). It has frameless doors - OMG I LOVE THEM!!! I love the weird teardrop-shaped door mirrors (how cool are they?) and the funky molten shape to the rear light clusters and the amazing duck-tail-almost-hatchback rear-end. It's swoopy, sexy, stunning, and surprising all at once. And yet still looks like a VW to anyone from any angle. Can anyone tell me how you do that?*

I've yet to hear anyone say anything other than 'How long has this been around? I've never heard of it - but it's the most beautiful car I've ever seen!'.*

It sold itself to me in a way no other car has.

I took another demo V6 CC up to Akuna Bay at 6am one Sunday morning - and thrashed it. OMG. I laughed so hard (a kind of muhahahahahahaha on*98 Octane) my throat was hoarse for days it was SO MUCH FUN to drive!! The sheer ability on that crappy but challenging 2-lane country D-road would easily outpace my tiny 400hp (modified) AMG convertible - the CC's DSG/DCC/4Motion all conspired against the forces of nature to deliver an incredible average speed - and so easily I could have done it with one hand!!

It's not just what it does - it's HOW it does it. Last year I drove 3000km across France in 6 super cars including an Audi R8 V8, Gallardo, F430, Porsche Turbo, etc, on the best roads in the Alps and even a stint in a real Formula 1 car, then headed round the Nurburgring in race-prepped M3's, and zapped the new SLS AMG Gullwing around a track in London.

Suffice to say - even if that was the only experience I've had driving fast wheels it would have been a good trip - but it's not.

The CC is - in effect - an R8 - with 120 less horsepower and 2 extra doors. Same tech - different spot in my garage.

I imagine the owners that speak of the CC's smoothness & it's almost cloud like ability to waft over potholes and expansion joints without jarring (on Comfort) have never punted the car to it's limits on Sport. Well neither have I. Because I can't find them. Not because I haven't tried - they're just so high you need a racetrack.

Like all 4Motions the CC understeers going hard but predictably and this can be tamed by alignment setup - or if you're so minded - by an aftermarket Haldex 4wd Controller. Body control on Sport is breathtaking as is the response-time of it's dampers. There was nothing I could do to make it lose composure or lateral grip. The brakes are Supercar territory in response, feel, and ability (I assure you).

The electrically powered steering lacks true feel and some would say is overly light - but as I personally bought this as a luxo-sporty thing its great to not have to manhandle the steering around like in the AMG - and it holds the turn radius on freeways and gentle sweepers without needing minor corrections - taking a massive chunk of hassle out of long-distance driving.

The CC's radar cruise control has got to be the best invention since the automobile! I'd say it saves my Licence daily (it just holds speeds SO well I don't even bother to unless punting hard - I don't curse School Zones anymore cos I'm not the one driving!), and takes about 90% of the effort of driving on freeways away from you. OMG.*

Even after a year - every time I use it my jaw drops. What an awesome option! (it costs $9,000 on a Benz - VW gives it to you for $2,000).

Park Assist not only stuns people - it spooks them out!! Several have checked the boot to see if there was someone hiding in there with a second steering wheel! Optical Parking System with audible alerts front/rear, Rear View Camera with predictive lines, wing mirrors that turn down on selecting reverse - it makes this 4.7m long car ridiculously easy to park. If you can remember what button to press to make it all happen that is...

It's almost disturbingly quiet at speed, but a beautiful turbine-like V6 note when punted - and an unusual pop-off-valve-like sound when changing up under full throttle. No idea why but it sure is cool!

Under 'Sport' on the DSG the throttle response and travel, steering, damping, and tranny all tighten up - when used with Sport on the chassis control the car sits up and listens. It can handle ANYTHING you ask of it. It's as comfortable as any Bentley I've driven (also a VAG...coincidence?), and yet as alive and surefooted as an R8 when asked - just chose your settings and there you have it.

And despite all the tech - it has real character. It's big, way bigger than a 4-seater has any right to be. It's even bigger than the 5-seat Passat it gets most of it's stuff from. It lopes along lazily most of the time like a labrador, the comfort sublime - but poke it and it salutes and you have the whole German Army at your disposal - taut and honed. A 4-door usually trades ability and sex appeal for practicality - the CC trades a bit of practicality to deliver more ability and sex appeal than most sportscars! It's not really a sedan - it's a sports car with extra doors - I'd say it's in a niche all it's own. Have you ever thought what it would look like as a 2-door? Almost the same I'd imagine. That says it all!

The interior is just a about the nicest I have seen, in every way carrying through with the promise of the exterior.

In summary it's the most amazing car I've ever owned (and there have been quite a few!) - I actually miss it when in another city or country - I really do. I'd say it's*the best all-in-one motoring package that money can buy - AT ANY PRICE. The equivalent Benz would be the CLS500 - at over 3 times the price and it's NOT even available with 4wd as an OPTION!!!*

There are downsides - it drinks fuel like a small-block V8 (but performs like one - buy the diesel if you care), and there isn't a VW Serviceperson in the Southern Hemisphere who could find his ass if you handed it to them. More a VW than a CC issue - but I've resolved to never take it to a VW dealer for anything ever again - even warranty. They are SO useless I wonder why they are paid. It's easier just to enjoy the car and pay a mechanic I can trust to keep the party rolling. The car is so cheap (relative to what it offers) - I see it as a trivial price to pay (needless to say cost is not a big problem for me - for others I just hope your car works the way the Germans designed it to!) for motoring nirvana.!*

Enjoy your CC's - and if your thinking of buying one - look a little closer - you'll be amazed what you find. I still can't believe how lucky I was to discover it..

JD*
Sydney Australia

[gead]

Nice write up....I think they missed a trick with the rear end....light clusters just don't work with the rest of the finely chiseled lines....wish I could graft the cc nose and wing mirrors onto my r36 wagon...

Are you sure the sport setting firms up all those things you mentioned?

[Pook]

I've had mine since August '09. I've got a Black on black, V6, Adaptive Cruise, Climate Seats, Park Assist, RNS510 Nav with Cam.

The best feature for me is the Adaptive Cruise Control, best money I've spent. On a recent run from Sydney to Byron it made the drive so easy.

The climate seats are great in summer, although hopefully some new tint today will negate the oven effect I get in the car (black on black is the issue here, not the car).

It isn't at its best in city driving (although lights to lights it is hard to beat), I'll take my MKVI GTI over it when traveling around the city or anything seriously twisty, but for a longer or flowing drive it is the best car I've owned. It does understeer badly when cornering at pace, but you can drive around it.

The boot is deep, but quite shallow, which can be an issue with all the families gear needed for holidays, the only time I think I should have got the R36 wagon..

I get 14ltr - 15ltrs/100km on average. I can get 8ltr/100kms on long country drives, but most of my kms are city.

Overall I love the car.

[ScottyP]

I bought my CC (seems to be a twin of Leagle's) Oct '09 from Denlo.

I saw it in a pic 6 months before and thought it was the best looking VAG car (VW Audi Group) I'd ever seen but was convinced they'd just furnish it with a tiddler of a TDi - hence my interest ended right there and then.

Looking for a spare car to my Merc SLK55AMG up to 80 grand the R36 popped onto my radar - a bit hardcore to be companion to my already harder-core sportscar. A friend said 'what about the CC?' - when he said it had the R36's engine I had the nearest dealer on the line in under 5 seconds booking their demo for a drive 15 mins later!

Build quality and materials are second to none. Equipment almost without peer in the automotive world - at any price.*

World's best transmission. World's best 4wd system for a roadcar. Active damping. It parks itself. It drives itself (Active Cruise). Touch screen satnav. BT phone kit. Heated and cooled seats. Rear camera. Optical Parking System. Etc etc etc - you go mad just listing them all.

It looks beautiful. Hauntingly beautiful in an almost subtly masculine way. I'd say the design is probably ahead of it's time even today - likely to look fresh 5 years from now (unlike other VAG products which tend to date terribly - I reckon that's by design). It has frameless doors - OMG I LOVE THEM!!! I love the weird teardrop-shaped door mirrors (how cool are they?) and the funky molten shape to the rear light clusters and the amazing duck-tail-almost-hatchback rear-end. It's swoopy, sexy, stunning, and surprising all at once. And yet still looks like a VW to anyone from any angle. Can anyone tell me how you do that?*

I've yet to hear anyone say anything other than 'How long has this been around? I've never heard of it - but it's the most beautiful car I've ever seen!'.*

It sold itself to me in a way no other car has.

I took another demo V6 CC up to Akuna Bay at 6am one Sunday morning - and thrashed it. OMG. I laughed so hard (a kind of muhahahahahahaha on*98 Octane) my throat was hoarse for days it was SO MUCH FUN to drive!! The sheer ability on that crappy but challenging 2-lane country D-road would easily outpace my tiny 400hp (modified) AMG convertible - the CC's DSG/DCC/4Motion all conspired against the forces of nature to deliver an incredible average speed - and so easily I could have done it with one hand!!

It's not just what it does - it's HOW it does it. Last year I drove 3000km across France in 6 super cars including an Audi R8 V8, Gallardo, F430, Porsche Turbo, etc, on the best roads in the Alps and even a stint in a real Formula 1 car, then headed round the Nurburgring in race-prepped M3's, and zapped the new SLS AMG Gullwing around a track in London.

Suffice to say - even if that was the only experience I've had driving fast wheels it would have been a good trip - but it's not.

The CC is - in effect - an R8 - with 120 less horsepower and 2 extra doors. Same tech - different spot in my garage.

I imagine the owners that speak of the CC's smoothness & it's almost cloud like ability to waft over potholes and expansion joints without jarring (on Comfort) have never punted the car to it's limits on Sport. Well neither have I. Because I can't find them. Not because I haven't tried - they're just so high you need a racetrack.

Like all 4Motions the CC understeers going hard but predictably and this can be tamed by alignment setup - or if you're so minded - by an aftermarket Haldex 4wd Controller. Body control on Sport is breathtaking as is the response-time of it's dampers. There was nothing I could do to make it lose composure or lateral grip. The brakes are Supercar territory in response, feel, and ability (I assure you).

The electrically powered steering lacks true feel and some would say is overly light - but as I personally bought this as a luxo-sporty thing its great to not have to manhandle the steering around like in the AMG - and it holds the turn radius on freeways and gentle sweepers without needing minor corrections - taking a massive chunk of hassle out of long-distance driving.

The CC's radar cruise control has got to be the best invention since the automobile! I'd say it saves my Licence daily (it just holds speeds SO well I don't even bother to unless punting hard - I don't curse School Zones anymore cos I'm not the one driving!), and takes about 90% of the effort of driving on freeways away from you. OMG.*

Even after a year - every time I use it my jaw drops. What an awesome option! (it costs $9,000 on a Benz - VW gives it to you for $2,000).

Park Assist not only stuns people - it spooks them out!! Several have checked the boot to see if there was someone hiding in there with a second steering wheel! Optical Parking System with audible alerts front/rear, Rear View Camera with predictive lines, wing mirrors that turn down on selecting reverse - it makes this 4.7m long car ridiculously easy to park. If you can remember what button to press to make it all happen that is...

It's almost disturbingly quiet at speed, but a beautiful turbine-like V6 note when punted - and an unusual pop-off-valve-like sound when changing up under full throttle. No idea why but it sure is cool!

Under 'Sport' on the DSG the throttle response and travel, steering, damping, and tranny all tighten up - when used with Sport on the chassis control the car sits up and listens. It can handle ANYTHING you ask of it. It's as comfortable as any Bentley I've driven (also a VAG...coincidence?), and yet as alive and surefooted as an R8 when asked - just chose your settings and there you have it.

And despite all the tech - it has real character. It's big, way bigger than a 4-seater has any right to be. It's even bigger than the 5-seat Passat it gets most of it's stuff from. It lopes along lazily most of the time like a labrador, the comfort sublime - but poke it and it salutes and you have the whole German Army at your disposal - taut and honed. A 4-door usually trades ability and sex appeal for practicality - the CC trades a bit of practicality to deliver more ability and sex appeal than most sportscars! It's not really a sedan - it's a sports car with extra doors - I'd say it's in a niche all it's own. Have you ever thought what it would look like as a 2-door? Almost the same I'd imagine. That says it all!

The interior is just a about the nicest I have seen, in every way carrying through with the promise of the exterior.

In summary it's the most amazing car I've ever owned (and there have been quite a few!) - I actually miss it when in another city or country - I really do. I'd say it's*the best all-in-one motoring package that money can buy - AT ANY PRICE. The equivalent Benz would be the CLS500 - at over 3 times the price and it's NOT even available with 4wd as an OPTION!!!*

There are downsides - it drinks fuel like a small-block V8 (but performs like one - buy the diesel if you care), and there isn't a VW Serviceperson in the Southern Hemisphere who could find his ass if you handed it to them. More a VW than a CC issue - but I've resolved to never take it to a VW dealer for anything ever again - even warranty. They are SO useless I wonder why they are paid. It's easier just to enjoy the car and pay a mechanic I can trust to keep the party rolling. The car is so cheap (relative to what it offers) - I see it as a trivial price to pay (needless to say cost is not a big problem for me - for others I just hope your car works the way the Germans designed it to!) for motoring nirvana.!*

Enjoy your CC's - and if your thinking of buying one - look a little closer - you'll be amazed what you find. I still can't believe how lucky I was to discover it..

JD*
Sydney Australia

Hi Silver CC (JD)

Do you happen to live in the East? I think I may have bailed you up for a chat about your CC around a month ago in Hopewell St Paddington (just down from the Fringe Bar). The bloke I spoke to raved about it and said it was a better car than his AMG! Was it you?

Cheers,
Scott

PS - still consdiering a CC!

[weiero]

(02) 9695 6000 Ask for Customer Complaints

[R36 Dreamer]

Silver,

Great write up, I agree with you 100% about how good the cars are. I have loved every minute of owning my R36.

[Leagle]

Silver, caught up with your post, an excellent review!

Incidentally, I have just come back from a trip to Tassie. I should have taken the CC but I decided against it and hired a new Commodore SV6 instead (equipped with the new IQ display).

Interestingly this provided for a very flattering comparison for BOTh my CC as well as the Commodore.

I may make this the subject of a new thread in the future, but in the meantime I wanted to share a few observations:

1. The Commodore is purpose built to suit our Aussie roads. Driving it on varying and challenging Tasmanian roads revealed to me how well GMH has got the handling/ride compromise. Certainly a lot better than a lot of Euro cars that I have previously owned or driven (which could either handle or ride but not do both). However upon coming back to the CC, it also revealed to me something about the CC that I did not think about before. The CC is possibly the first Euro car that I have owned that actually rides as well (if not better) to an Aussie car! And that is in the standard "Adaptive Chassis" setting!

2. The Commodore actually surprised me how far it has come ahead in technology. Traction technology, ABS, 6 air bags etc all standard. The new IQ touch screen was (almost) as impressive as the RNS510 in my CC! However, suffice to say, it cannot touch the CC for gadgetry or sheer quality and refinement. But of course this does reflect the different price points and markets of both cars.

3. However, in short, I concluded this: at BOTH of their respective price points, BOTH the CC and Commodore arguably represent superior value for money. Now thats not really a surprise for a mainstream Aussie sedan. But how many Euro cars can you honestly say represent fantastic value for money in Australia?

[kleung]

Incidentally, I have just come back from a trip to Tassie. I should have taken the CC but I decided against it and hired a new Commodore SV6 instead (equipped with the new IQ display).

Hah. me too, except I had an SV6 Sportwagon, without the IQ. I just took a trip with a bunch of friends around Tassie between Christmas and New Years.

I may make this the subject of a new thread in the future

I mentioned posting an R36 Wagon vs SV6 Sportwagon comparo in another thread, but didn't get any bites. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts, and I have some detailed contributions of my own, if you want to go ahead and post a new thread.

3. However, in short, I concluded this: at BOTH of their respective price points, BOTH the CC and Commodore arguably represent superior value for money. Now thats not really a surprise for a mainstream Aussie sedan. But how many Euro cars can you honestly say represent fantastic value for money in Australia?

No question about that - regardless of whether you are a Ford or Holden fan, there is no doubt that the Falcadore represents good value for money. The rivalry between the two makes certainly contributes to their constant improvement, but I was pleasantly surprised at the huge (positive) difference between the SV6 I had this time around, and the VZ sedan (another rental) that I drove up to Sydney from Melbourne 4-5 years ago.

As for value-for-money Euro cars, it doesn't really get any better than VW, IMHO.

[Leagle]

Kleung I just posted another thread on the SV6 (sedan) vs CC/R36 comparison. Agree that the latest Commodore is a VAST improvement over the VZ model (I actually drove one in Cairns in 2007 and was less than impressed with it).